Will Dodgers' pitching needs outweigh long-term plans?

This next week will be fraught with temptation for Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.

Dodgers officials have said repeatedly the record payrolls that have characterized the first two years of Guggenheim Partners ownership will not continue forever. The long-range plan is to draft (or sign) and develop their own talent in the way that was once the strength of the Dodgers’ organization, producing more Rookie of the Year winners (16) than any other franchise including an unprecedented five in a row in the 1990s (Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo and Todd Hollandsworth).

There has been progress. Three of the Dodgers’ four All-Stars this season (Clayton Kershaw, Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig) were products of the Dodgers’ system. And three Dodgers minor-leaguers were listed in the top 20 of Baseball America’s mid-season prospect rankings: 17-year-old left-hander Julio Urias; 20-year-old shortstop Corey Seager and 22-year-old outfielder Joc Pederson.

Now along comes Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline. Colletti has as itchy a trigger finger as any GM in baseball when it comes to making deadline deals (remember Manny Ramirez in 2008? Hanley Ramirez in 2012? Ricky Nolasco in 2013?). He hasn’t even let the deadline stop him. The blockbuster deal with the Boston Red Sox in 2012 that brought Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to Los Angeles happened in August after all parties had cleared waivers.

The desire to add a David Price, a Cole Hamels or a Jonathan Papelbon will test the Dodgers’ commitment to building a stack of blue chips such as Urias, Seager and Pederson.

“There is a sincere commitment to it,” Colletti said when that premise was posed. “The way you describe it, that is the path we’re on.

“We’ve got some of the top young prospects in baseball. You have to have a development system in place if you’re going to keep payroll under control. We’re trying to get younger. Some of that is down the road. … But we have a good team and whether we make a move or not, we’re still going to have a good team.”

Price is the big temptation and the name most frequently linked with the Dodgers as Thursday approaches.

But the Tampa Bay Rays are the hottest team in baseball with a seven-game win streak and 16 wins in their past 20 games. Still under .500 (49-53), they are only 41/2 games out of a wild-card spot in the American League, and there is serious doubt about their willingness to move Price. If they do, one baseball source said, the Rays are seeking a “massive” return for the 28-year-old former Cy Young Award winner.

In the Dodgers’ case, that means two of their three blue-chip prospects and probably another one or two prospects of less allure.

As strong as the Dodgers’ rotation has been this season, there is vulnerability with Josh Beckett’s hip problem and Dan Haren’s rising ERA. Adding Price is the kind of bold move Colletti has never been afraid to make.

Going into the season, the Dodgers thought their bullpen could be a real asset, but it has not provided the kind of dependable depth they expected. Sixteen teams are within three games of a playoff spot and all seem to be searching for bullpen help at the trade deadline, raising the price if Colletti is going to outbid the others for an available reliever – and again tempting him to dip into that stack of blue chips.

Supply and demand will make it harder for Colletti, and the short list of few sellers have already moved some of their most valuable trade pieces – Jeff Samardzija (Cubs to A’s), Chase Headley (Padres to Yankees), Huston Street (Padres to Angels) and Joakim Soria (Rangers to Tigers).

But don’t look for Manager Don Mattingly to publicly push for reinforcements. Saying the team needs help in any particular area, he said this week, would be criticizing the current players in that role and Mattingly won’t do that.

“We’re not sitting here as a coaching staff or as an organization saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to go get this to show everybody we’re in this thing,’” Mattingly said. “We know we’re in this thing and we’re capable of doing what we need to do.

“I think we’re going to try and get better. But for myself and the staff and the players, we’re confident that we’re good enough to get where we need to go just the way we are.”

The likelihood of the Dodgers staying “just the way we are” through the trade deadline is not high, given Colletti’s track record. Help for the bench or bullpen – like last year’s additions of Nolasco before the deadline and Michael Young in August – might be had at a price that would keep the Dodgers’ prized prospects right where they are.

“I'd hate to see us unload a couple of our guys down there that I've watched enough to know, you've got quality guys coming,” Mattingly said. “I don't think you give those guys away for a temporary thing. I’ve seen enough of our young guys now to think they’re going to be pretty good ballplayers.

“I like the young guys. I think that’s kind of the wave in our organization. You’ve got to have them coming and if you keep trading them away you’re not going to have them coming.”